Yachting Australia

Christopher designed, developed and manufactured the first ever 2.3m single seated Access dinghy. Chris recognised a need for a safe, stable, user-friendly boat in order to promote sailing for disabled people, and used his design and boat-building skills to develop a class of boat that is now sailed worldwide, and has introduced an estimated 10,000 Australians to sailing.

Chris’s continued dedication to the principles of Sailability led to the further development of the two seater 3.03m Access, which brought sailing within the reach of the profoundly disabled who could sail with a carer or instructor. Chris has since designed two more models of Access dinghies, the ‘Access Liberty’ and ‘Breeze’, and has assisted in the formation of Sailability NT.

Since the early 1990’s, over 900 Access dinghies have been manufactured, and are being sailed in twelve countries, from Canada to Portugal, France and the Netherlands. Chris was instrumental in the design, manufacture and distribution of all these Access dinghies, as well as assisting in setting up Sailability organisations in each of those countries.

Chris’s dedication and boat design/building skills have been an inspiration, contributing much to the success of Sailability worldwide. His work brings recognition to Australia as the world leader in entry level sailing for people with disabilities.

In 2002 Chris was named National Winner of the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Business and Community Partnerships, and was also a National Finalist in the Australian Sports Industry Awards for Business Innovation.